Investigating Experienced ESL Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge

This study investigated the hypothesis that it is possible to access the pattern of knowledge about teaching and learning (pedagogical knowledge) that experienced teachers utilize while they teach. This hypothesis was investigated through qualitative and quantitative analyses of verbal protocols obtained from teachers who simultaneously watched videotaped segments of themselves teaching and reported on thoughts they had as they taught these segments. Two sets of experienced teachers (N = 7) uniformly reported 20 to 21 categories of pedagogical thoughts that they claimed were in their minds while teaching. Of these, 7 to 8 were reported more frequently than others. The lists of predominant categories for both sets are headed by thoughts concerned with managing both the language the students hear and the language they produce (Language Management). Thoughts about students (Knowledge of Students), thoughts about ensuring the smooth transition of activities in the classroom (Procedure Check), and assessing student participation in and progress with the classroom tasks (Progress Review) were also among those that featured highly on both sets of teachers’ predominance lists. In terms of an approach in analyzing the thought processes of ESL teachers, the study suggests that a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods may be profitable.